Living Colour: Ince as a Cult of Personality

In what appears to be incredibly bad timing, on the same week Professional Footballers Association Chief Executive Gordon Taylor called for the hiring of more minority managers in English football, League One clubNotts County sacked one of the two with a job. Earlier in the week, Taylor marked Paul Ince as one to be fast-tracked for future Premiership managerial vacancies, and along with Chris Powell of Charlton, one who might benefit from institutionally-imposed pressure on clubs to interview and hire more black British managers. Then, the Ince-led Notts County continued a five match beaten streak in which no goals have been scored to begin its month of April. County now sit perilously close to relegation back to League Two.

Regardless of skin colour, form like that threatens any gaffer with the sack.

Having only previously managed at the League Two level with Macclesfield Town and the Franchise, Ince was thrust into the spotlight perhaps a touch too early when special dispensation was granted to allow him the managerial leap three divisions up to the Premiership in 2008. That experience in the top flight was rather short-lived, however, as after Blackburn endured a six match beaten streak by December, Rovers chair John Williams sacked Ince six months into the job. Ince climbed back down the ladder, this time settling in League One with the club he had led to promotion–the club formerly known as Wimbledon FC.

One has to wonder if the fast-tracking of Ince–which led him to become the first black British Premiership manager–has done more harm than good for the individual and/or prospective minority British candidates in general. When Premiership heads Richard Scudamore and Sir David Richards were faced with the choice whether to allow Ince’s hiring or deny it to Blackburn based on his lack of Pro license qualification, the pair were in that unenviable area between a rock and a hard place. If they were to invalidate Ince, they could have been labeled as discriminatory, racist, and preservationist after Gareth Southgate and Avram Grant had been given similarly unique accommodations. With Taylor and the PFA lurking to “make a scene about it” if the first manager to break the Premiership’s colour barrier was barred from entry, the two man board of Scudamore and Richards would likely have encountered a public relations nightmare had they done so.

In hindsight, it might have been beneficial for both Ince and a PFA initiative to promote more minority candidates had he been denied the special dispensation. Rather than vaulting that far up the managerial ranks into an environment saturated with the ills brought about by the money at stake, where knee-jerk reactions are often the only kind club executives make, and where your every fault is fodder for a national debate, Ince might have benefited from the more modest move to either a League One club in need of new direction to make the promotion playoffs or a Championship club mired in mid to near relegation gloom. Success for a few years at either of these divisions might have garnered Ince the necessary time and experience to flourish at the next level–as well as get the required licenses. Staying the hand in 2008 in lieu of a stronger managerial profile for Ince today might have also lent Taylor’s invocation that English football needs a “Rooney Rule” much greater weight.

As it stands now, Paul Ince could be viewed as an even longer long shot for a Premiership post than back in 2008. Having not gotten the results with Blackburn, he now has been terminated after not leading Meadow Lane to the promotion playoffs. Which Premiership or Championship club would take the risk on hiring a manager who’s been sacked for poor performances in League One with little else on his resume? One hopes Gordon Taylor does not now turn his gaze too intently on Chris Powell and instead allows him to bed in at Charlton Athletic.

Turning the Cynicism Knob up to eleven, why would someone like Ince or Powell even agree to sit an interview fully aware he might be doing so only to satisfy a league mandate and assist a club avoid being penalized if there was a Rooney Rule? With managers such as Sam Allardyce still floating in the ether, one could easily see clubs soliciting minority candidates only to turn them down in favor of one of the old warhorses of English football. The predictable press release would likely include phrases, such as, “We went with his experience to guide us through this transition,” or “After a thorough interview process including several minority candidates, we opted for a track record of success and have appointed… instead.” In the instance when a club failed to even speak with a minority manager, it could pay its fine and move on with someone like a Joe Kinnear – as the Detroit Lions of the National Football League did back in 2003.

When it comes to the formulation of a Rooney Rule in English football, who would fit within the parameters? With football being a more global sport, drawing managerial talent the world over in opposition to the rather solitary and specialized pool the gridiron variety dips into, who would be classified as a minority to satisfy said requirement? Must the candidate be British too? Clearly, the intent of Mr. Taylor’s comments was to encourage the retention of black British managers, but these types of questions would likely be raised – along with others – if and when such a regulation was designed.

Rather than looking to the experience of the NFL to lend weight to his argument, though, Mr. Taylor should look to Major League Baseball instead. In a league where there are fewer African-Americans playing today but more minorities in the game due to its Latin American draw, MLB has received plaudits for diversity programs that were demanded by its commissioner two years prior to the Rooney Rule in the NFL. Whilst often derided in American sports media during his tenure, Commissioner Selig’s reign has seen not only greater managerial diversity at the lower levels but more importantly, into the directors’ boxes too. That diversity not only entails more managers and executives of colour but also more women in the upper echelons of MLB’s organization.

Where did Mr. Selig begin his revolution? Why, in his very own house, filling the offices of the Commissioner with qualified candidates of colour as well as female. For the PFA Bobby Barnes sups at the executive table with Mr. Taylor and there are players from ethnic minorities on the Management Committee – Clark Carlisle being the chair – so it appears attempts at inclusion here are being made. As for the Football League itself, there are no board members from ethnic minorities as these positions are filled by upper management of the clubs themselves. The Premiership “Board of Directors” comprises Scudamore, Richards, and their staff.

Here, Mr. Taylor, is where your initiative might be impactful. Make a scene about the lack of diversity in the corridors of power before styling those on the pitch to be your English Jackie Robinsons. If applicable, publicly applaud the work of Carlisle and Jason Roberts on the PFA Management Committee and bring pressure on the Football League for inclusivity prior to pushing a promising managerial talent like Paul Ince into the deep waters of the Premiership without a life preserver. In that way, change both from below and within might bring about the modicum of success desired, rather than sending another manager to the gallows.

About The Author

Ian began writing Twohundredpercent in May 2006. He lives in Brighton. He has also written for, amongst others, Pitch Invasion, FC Business Magazine, The Score, When Saturday Comes, Stand Against Modern Football and The Football Supporter. Ian was the first winner of the Socrates Award For Not Being Dead Yet at the 2010 NOPA awards for football bloggers.

8 Comments

Dunduks on April 5, 2011 at 10:18 am

Why is talk about needing of greater diversity at all ? It’s just positive discrimination & PC-going-mad.

John Stokes on April 5, 2011 at 1:16 pm

Encouraging more candidates from ethnic minorities to interview is not positive discrimination since the best candidate is selected on interview performance and meeting the criteria. It’s about reflecting society at football management level and it’s about time football moved forwards, more ethnic minorities, more women and people with disabilities involved and I can’t see anything wrong with that.

Dunduks on April 5, 2011 at 3:57 pm

John Stokes –

There are always “After a thorough interview process including several minority candidates, we opted for a track record of success and have appointed… instead.” possibility and I think world is going for 1984 and every additional regulation is one very, very small step but in that direction.

Richard on April 5, 2011 at 5:57 pm

Jean Tigana was the first black Premiership manager, was he not?

Richard on April 5, 2011 at 5:57 pm

Whoops, disregard, you said British as well. 😀

Gervillian Swike on April 5, 2011 at 9:12 pm

It’s something I’m not totally convinced about either. The implication is that there is some institutional racism in football, but given the number of black players, if there is racism it’s selective, and probably not easily explained purely by counting the (admittedly freakishly low) number of black managers in the league. I’m not saying it’s definitely not there, I’m saying that the evidence is a little crude; a low number of black managers as a statistic is not in itself conclusive evidence and the introduction of some kind of positive discrimination wouldn’t be the answer here. We’re not talking here about the presence of black people in the police force, where a diverse ethnic mix is important to their effectiveness, or the civil service, where public bodies have the responsibility and capacity to promote a leading diversity policy. The position of football manager is so pivotal to the success of the club, I find it hard to imagine a club passing over a talented individual because he’s black. I may be wrong though. How does this compare with similar posts in other industries (not just sporting) and is there the implication of racism there too?

Apropos of the double reference in the title, Living Colour were and still are a cracking band. They’re still around, and still making fantastic records.

Jason on April 6, 2011 at 2:07 am

Gervillian: Excellent points–including Living Colour. This is why a potential Rooney Rule as Taylor is suggesting would have complications. If he and the PFA want to pursue the issue further, it seems it might be a more profitable line to start making inquiries at the upper levels rather than trying to fast-track not quite ready for primetime individuals like Paul Ince.

Kofte on April 6, 2011 at 1:11 pm

To Gervillian, although the evidence appears crude I think it is very telling that, outside of playing positions, there are very few minority/ female staff in and around football clubs. Given it’s the most dominant sport in the UK, it’s not unreasonable to expect it to somewhat reflect the societal make-up which surrounds it. I think football does have a responsibility to promote a diversity policy.

Your point about clubs not passing over talented black managers makes sense, but the other side of that is there has to be black managers available in the first place. If they do not get any coaching opportunities, it becomes a catch 22. Paul Ince has just become the only unemployed black manager I can think of, whereas I can think of another ten white British managers easily.